Steven Alker matches career-best round to lead Simmons Bank Championship

New Zealand's Steven Alker carded a bogey-free, 10-under-par 62 to secure the first-round lead at the inaugural Simmons Bank Championship on Friday in Little Rock, Ark.

Alker matched his lowest 18-hole score on the Champions Tour by racking up eight birdies before finishing the round with an eagle on the par-5 18th. The 53-year-old slipped past South Africa's Ernie Els for first place in the projected Charles Schwab Cup standings.

"You want to try to go low out here, just keep pedal to the metal and just try to shoot the best score," Alker said. "You look at the leaderboard and you saw 7s and 8s and thought just try to keep going."

The top 36 players in the standings after Sunday's final round at Pleasant Valley Country Club will advance to next month's Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.

Fuji's Vijay Singh climbed from 34th to 15th in the projected standings after shooting an 8-under 64 to close the first round alone in second place, two shots behind Alker.

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, South Africa's Retief Goosen and Jason Caron each carded a 65 to finish in a three-way tie for third at 7-under. All three golfers are currently projected to finish in top 36, with Caron soaring 18 spots to No. 35.

"I mean, I'm not trying to think of too much out there, to be honest. I'm not trying to get too far ahead of myself," Caron said. "I know this is kind of like -- I don't want to say it's a free week, but kind of feels that way a little bit because there's really nothing to lose for me regardless."

Scott Dunlap, who entered Friday No. 36 in the standings, struggled to a 3-over 75. He projects to slip to No. 40 if his current position holds. South Korea's Charlie Wi is in line to remain the first one out of the top 36 after shooting a 2-under 70.

Alker found his groove early, posting seven birdies through 11 holes. After a string of pars, Alker birdied No. 17 before a splendid iron shot set up an eagle putt that punctuated his career day.

"It's one of those rounds you just want to keep going. You want to go to the first tee and just keep playing, Alker said. "It was nice to finish that way. Got it going early, hit a lot of iron shots close today, gave myself a lot of chances. That's the difference between the last few weeks, so I was pleased about that."

The Simmons Bank Championship replaces the TimberTech Championship, which was held in Boca Raton, Fla. The 2023 TimberTech champion, Padraig Harrington of Northern Ireland (67), is tied for ninth with Billy Andrade and Japan's Hiroyuki Fujita.

--Field Level Media